Abstract
The philosophy of religion is largely concerned with investigating the rational grounds for religious belief. It differs from theology in that theology starts from a particular religious belief or set of beliefs and seeks to understand and explore questions in religion from that starting point. The philosophy of religion, on the other hand, is not supposed to start with any assumptions or prior beliefs. Its goal is to examine the basis of religious belief and to do that it cannot assume that any religious beliefs are true or false.
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Further reading
There are many introductions to the philosophy of religion. The God of Philosophy by Roy Jackson (Acumen) and The Puzzle of God by Peter Vardy (Fount) are two of the best for a straight, syllabus-based approach. Coming from a different angle, Arguing for Atheism by Robin Le Poidevin (Routledge) is also an introduction but one with a rare, explicit non-believer’s stance.
One of the most interesting modern writers on religion is Don Cupitt and his The Sea of Faith (SCM Press) is a brave attempt to construct a non-superstitious conception of religion which does not see God as having a real existence. Alvin Plantinga is also an interesting contemporary religious philosopher and The Analytic Theist: An Alvin Plantinga Reader, edited by James F. Sennett (Eerdmans William B. Publishing) is a good place to start.
A classic, fascinating and very readable text which attempts to defend religious belief against scientific reductionism is William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience (Penguin Classics).
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© 2012 Julian Baggini and Gareth Southwell
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Baggini, J., Southwell, G. (2012). Philosophy of Religion. In: Philosophy: Key Themes. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137008879_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137008879_5
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